Florida man executed, Oklahoma convict gets last-minute reprieve

(AFP) A Florida man convicted of raping and murdering a girl was executed by lethal injection Thursday, the same day a death row inmate in Oklahoma was granted a last-minute reprieve.

Bryan Jennings, a 66-year-old former Marine, was executed in a Florida state prison for the 1979 rape and murder of Rebecca Kunash, a six-year-old girl, U.S. prison officials said.

This is the 16th execution carried out in Florida this year.

Meanwhile, Tremane Wood was due to be received at 10:00 local time (16:00 GMT) at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester for the murder of Ronnie Wipf during a robbery in 2002.

However, Wood received a pardon from the state governor.

The Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended the sentence change for Wood by a 3-2 vote on Nov. 5, and Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt granted it minutes before the execution.

"After a thorough review of the facts and prayerful consideration, I have chosen to accept the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation to commute Tremane Wood’s sentence to life without parole," Stitt said.

Jake Wood, Tremane's brother, had received life in prison for his role in the Wipf murder.

Jake, who committed suicide in prison in 2019, confessed that he was the one who stabbed Wipf to death.

On Friday, in South Carolina, Stephen Bryant, 44, will be executed by firing squad.

Bryant pleaded guilty to the murder of three people in 2004, writing the message "catch me if you can" in the blood of one of his victims.